What is your fondest memory of the early days and rise of The Blockheads throughout the ‘70s?

The Blockheads have toured America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe many times. We’ve been to Canada, seen Niagara Falls, and been up the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. We’ve seen the Coliseum in Rome, and the Acropolis in Greece. We’ve exchanged new boots for panties in Minneapolis, gone walkin’ in New Orleans, and got lost in Japan. I shared a peach with Eric in Bristol, and a Bristol with Charley in Peachville. We met Michael Douglas at La Coupole, dined at the Grand on Lake Como, James Caan was in Buffalo, and we played with Patti Smith in Boston. Alex Harvey, Sacha Distel, Wee Willie Harris, and Max Wall, we met them all. There were also some great times with the Kilburns, when Ian, his girlfriend Denise and I would check out the charity shops in the many towns that we played, deciding who was going to buy the original 50s drape, with cloth buttons and a velvet collar, or do we really need another art deco teapot.

The Ian Dury and the Blockheads ’79 headline set at The Hammersmith Odeon (now the Apollo) – the legendary residency that forms the backdrop to Graeae’s REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL was a special gig for you. Tell us more about it especially your unusual headgear.

In 1979 we did seven nights at the Hammersmith Odeon, London (5-12 August), and two at the Ilford Odeon, (14- 15 August). Our support band was the brilliant American Root Boy Slim. It was a special gig for me because the 11August was my birthday. Various friends and guests came to these gigs – Humphrey Ocean, Ted Milton, Annie Lennox, Pete Townsend, Peter Blake, Alex Harvey, Wee Willie Harris and Viv Stanshall. On stage I wore an Indian chief’s headdress, a plastic jacket and birthday candles on each shoulder. Just before the curtain went up on Wake Up, Ian’s friend and minder, Fred Spider Rowe, lit the candles. With a slight breeze onstage it crossed my mind that this could be a little dangerous. But then, we were a little dangerous.

What do you think of Graeae’s production REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL?

The Graeae production of REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL gives the audience a view of how it was for Ian’s fans. Ian was a great communicator on stage; his lyrics were understanding of everyday neuroses, people’s problems and insecurities, their strengths and weaknesses. So at a gig you had music and therapy.

Ian was a former patron of Graeae. What do you think he would have thought of REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL?

Graeae’s REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL has a bunch of charismatic personalities. Somebody once said that when Ian Dury and Kilburn and the High Roads walked on stage it was like a Fellini film. I’m sure Ian would have been completely at home sitting with a bag of sweets in the audience, and be reminded of how much he was appreciated.

Can you sum up Graeae’s REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL in 3 words.

Revealing, entertaining, therapeutic

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is touring Feb – April 2012. For more details  visit www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

Nadia Albina. Image: Patrick Baldwin

Early punks wouldn’t leave the house without ripped t-shirts, leather jackets and customised blazers usually adorned with a rebellious slogan of choice. Studded jewellery, spike bands, Dr. Martens boots and fishnet tights were all part and parcel of the punk aesthetic.

White face black shirt, white socks black shoes, black hair white strat, bled white died black -Sweet Gene Vincent, Ian Dury & The Blockheads.

Ian Dury’s  take on fashion was nothing if not original. Ian cleverly fused his love of Gene Vincent’s rockabilly look with new wave punk to create his unique, quirky style (such as the razor hanging from his ear) that has influenced fashion genres to this very day.

With the punk movement still alive and kicking in 2012, original punk Mik Scarlet tells us how to get the look today:

If you want to capture the real look of 1979, you should do what most of us did back then… make it yourself. You can easily do this with a small sewing kit, some permanent felt pens, studs, safety pins and a visit to a second hand clothes shop. To make zip jeans, a big fashion item of new wave, you just buy a pile of zips and sew them all over a pair of cheap jeans. Preferably the jeans should be either black or as bright as possible. My best mate at school had a pair in dayglow green, and I am jealous of them to this day. Skirts must be as short as humanly possible, with ripped fishnets. T-shirts must have a few rips that need to be held together with safety pins, and should have prints on them that seem little to do with punk. I had one with a Planet of the Apes print and one with Barry Sheen on it, both made of nylon and way too small as they fitted me when I was about 10. I ripped the shoulders, pinned them up and then drew on them with permanent felt pens. Never forget that the Sex Pistols made a Pink Floyd t-shirt punk by writing “I Hate” above the logo. The same ripped, pinned and written over thing works for jackets too, and of course if all else fails a leather bike jacket was in everyone’s wardrobe.

Mik Scarlet

Whatever you do to get the look, have fun. That was the point of the punk explosion. Not only to break out of the restrictions of the past, but to do it in a way that allowed us to express our youthful exuberance. We thought we were going to change the world, instead we changed fashion for good. – Mik Scarlet

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is touring Feb – April 2012. For more details  visit www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

http://mikscarlet.blogspot.com/

Photography: Alison Baskerville

Narration: Nadia Albina

Nadia Albina plays Janine in REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

You will be touring a mammoth 1633 miles on the REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL tour, what songs will you sing on the bus?

Well, Pickles usually makes the best CDs for the journey- last time he made us all copies and when I put it on it had 500 songs on it . Too many great songs to choose from!

What is your favourite Ian Dury & The Blockheads song featured in REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL?

My favourite song in the show is Spasticus Autisticus.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one book, one album and one luxury item what would they be?

Tough. I would take The Queen is Dead by the Smiths, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott. Fitzgerald and an espresso machine.

 If you could live in any era, when would you live and why?

I would love to live in the 20s/30s. I love the music, the style and the literature of the era.

When you are out on tour with REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL what is the one food you can’t live without?

Vegetables. I need the vitamins !

What fictional character would you most like to go on a date with and why?

I have a bit of a thing for Benedick from Much ado about Nothing, he is funny, irritating, charming and witty.

If REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL was an animal what would it be?

A Dominecker Camel.  And a few nanny goats.

Sum up REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL in three words….

Punk, honest, all heart.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is touring Feb – April 2012. For more details  visit www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

http://www.alisonbaskerville.co.uk/

John Kelly and cast in rehearsals for REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL. Image: Charlie Swinbourne

John Kelly, lead vocalist in REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL (RTBC) tells us about rehearsals and the run so far…

It’s very easy to get all cliché about the last few weeks, but genuinely I’m living the dream and time really does fly when you are having fun. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been hard work with some long hard days. Rehearsals, tech week at the New Wolsey Theatre, and the first performances have been packed with laughter and joy.  Ian Dury & The Blockheads have given us a feast to play with, and never far from my mind is making sure I/we give those songs the honesty and justice they deserve, 100%.

As lead vocalist in the band the rehearsal period was a concentrated challenge on the old vocal Norfolks (chords) as we are singing and playing pretty much all day, every day. As soon as the band kicks in, the theory/guidance/instruction is to hold it back, after all we are rehearsing and there is no audience to give it to. Well, holding back is harder than a slow drive in a Formula One! You just put Sweet Gene Vincent, Blockheads or even our dearest Clever Trevor on your iPod, turn it to 11 and then try and hold back, it’s nearly impossible. The music just takes over and drives you on, add to that the feel of a live band and the fact I’ve been dreaming about doing gigs like this most of my life and the guidance is hard to stick to.

However hard it’s been to hold back, with the support of the Graeae team, providing me with a good run in with a vocal coach, I’ve learnt to do both. Holding my voice safely and giving it what’s needed, honest!  My vocal sessions with Christopher Holt have been brilliant and helped me to ensure that my voice gets through rehearsals so that we can give it all in the show that YOU WILL be coming to see (ooops a little Johnny Ferocious there)!

Saturday was our third preview night and we only went and had three encores! It was just brilliant. How the audience respond, join in, laugh or even pause for thought, all set the pace and tone of how the show unfolds. The whole company (both on and behind stage), the venues and the show that is REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL are ready to ave it large on this adventure. All we need now is to get on that RTBC Road Trip and have you join us in all this fun. It’s you, the lovely audiences (who blew us away with warmth and support last time) and the music of Ian Dury & The Blockheads that make all this worthwhile.

-John Kelly

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is touring Feb – April 2012. For more details  visit www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

Check out John Kelly’s website http://www.rockinpaddy.com

The nerves and fears are linked to the overall anxiety of letting go of your baby but at the same time knowing that you are putting it into the hands of extremely skilled people who make it all happen – the lights, the sound, the cues, everything and more.

My underlying anxiety, I realise is linked to always feeling so very deaf during production week. The lights go down and all the technical team are on cans muttering thoughts, information and instructions to each other.

I have a fabulous team of interpreters who wear cans and will interpret what is being said but there are so many different dialogues it distracts from me doing what I need to do, which is watch what is happening on stage. I sign my notes to my interpreter who speaks them down the cans to the right person. It is an intricate web of communication.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is a musical and why I placed myself so far out of my comfort zone is anyone’s guess. As I watched the band sound check last night the sound designer, sound engineer and musical director walked around the auditorium with their heads slightly jutting out with their best ear forward and their ‘listening’ faces on. They talked me through the nuances of the various instruments in terms of setting levels and mixing the music, so that I too was jutting left hearing aid wearing ear out to try to catch the skill of the mixer and to differentiate sounds. I realised as always,  I can only hear what I can hear and I need to leave the full realisation of sound and music to those who can hear. BUT I also know that as a deaf director I need to learn to be more confident commenting on sound and music from my perspective.

I am so sure Ian Dury would have laughed and given me the finger if I had said to him ‘there are too many notes in this bit or that bit sounds too cluttered.’ These are the comments Robert the musical director has had to put up with and I love it when he gently clarifies things for me.

It is my responsibility to nip the deaf anxiety thing well and truly in the bud and remember I do have access to this extraordinary underworld of  ‘canned’ dialogue as I see it all unfolding before my very eyes as the lights change and the music kicks in.  So having gone though my ‘Jenny anxiety process’ I am now ready to thoroughly enjoy this tech and allow the excitement to build as we hurtle towards opening REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL at The New Wolsey, Ipswich.

Oi.Oi.- Jenny Sealey

Jenny Sealey at REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL rehearsals. Image Alison Baskerville

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is touring Feb – April 2012. For more details  visit www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

Last week I spent the afternoon with the cast of Graeae’s  REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL, watching their rehearsals as they prepare to take the show on tour. I was fortunate enough to be a member of the audience at a performance of RTBC at the Theatre Royal Stratford East (TRSE) last year and was blown away by the show.

As someone who is old enough to have been an original fan of the late, great Ian Dury, and with similar disability to him (thus making him a massive personal hero and role model) I was transported back to 1979 from the moment the lights went down. Within a few minutes I had forgotten I was sat in a theatre and was 15 again, dressed in my bondage trousers, safety pinned ripped t-shirt and black leather bike jacket hanging around with my mates. The show uses the music of Ian Dury and The Blockheads to illustrate the story, and everyone that attended the show at TRSE with me left singing at the top of their voices. They also all had huge smiles on their faces as this show really fills you with joy and sticks that grin to your boat race for days afterwards.

So when I was offered the chance to visit the Graeae offices in Hackney and sit in on rehearsals, I jumped at the chance. In fact I was so keen I turned up an hour early and the cast had just broken for lunch. When things got underway, I watched the band run through a few Dury hits while the actors did a voice session, luuvie. Now something that I think is amazing about the show is how well the band recreates the sound of the Blockheads. The Blockheads music was fast paced and really complex, with an individual sound that made them such a big hit with everyone back in the day: these guys capture that sound flawlessly. If you then add the fact John Kelly channels Dury in such a way that it could almost be him performing the vocals it was real privilege for a lifelong fan like me.

Something I didn’t realise was that the band has to change how they play to allow the actors to do their thing. The musical director, Robert Hyman, explained “We always have to remember that this isn’t like playing in a band. We’re there to accompany the actors and so we have to fit with the way they perform from night to night. We spend ages getting everything spot on, but if during a show one of the cast changes the tempo we just go with it”. Whatever the added stresses the show places on the musicians, they really come up with the goods on stage. After an hour of rehearsals, getting each track as tight as a drum skin, it was time for tea.

With their whistles wetted, the entire cast assembled to run Plaistow Patricia, a track that caused my parents to get quite cross when I first played my LP of New Boots and Panties as a school boy, due to the infamous first line. Even though it was a rehearsal, the cast gave their all and re-captured the experience I had the first time I saw the show.

At this point I gained another insight into just how much work goes into RTBC, as director Jenny Sealey and choreographer Mark Smith began integrating the signed song element of the show. Earlier this year I attended a course on Creative Access run by Graeae, and to see this process in action really hit home how ahead of the game Graeae really are. As someone who doesn’t use sign language, I never noticed that so much of what appears exuberant jumping around during the show is actually cleverly choreographed signing. It means that anyone that uses signing as their means of communication can enjoy the show in pretty much the same way as hearing types like me. On top of that, there is a character on stage providing the audio description via a payphone adapted to be a microphone. If you combine this with a backdrop projecting lyrics and script alongside photos and graphics, lifted straight out of the punk era you have a show that is more than accessible, it’s seamlessly accessible.

Now I know I might come across as way too enthusiastic but RTBC really is a great show. Not only for old punks (like me), or disabled people (like me) but for the whole family. If you were there at the time the show is set (like me) and have teenage kids (not like me), then this show is a fantastic way of allowing your sprogs to understand what it was like when you were their age, while having loads of fun.

I would heartily recommend you all to give RTBC a visit, it really is that good. If it was possible I would go back into the past and try to audition for the show myself. I can’t think of many other shows that I would bend the fabric of space/time for the chance to appear in.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is touring Feb – April 2012. For more details  visit www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

Since I started at Graeae just over two years ago, each show has had a tactile element used as an access tool. This has typically been a model of the set or a selection of fabric swatches.

What I find really interesting is that the creation of a stage set involves so much visual illusion. The set designer conjures up brick, wood and metal, all (often) with foam, papier-mache or mesh. A sighted audience therefore interprets what has been up in front of them visually. Someone on a touch tour will touch what the set is *actually* made of, not what the designer wants to portray. It provides an excellent feel for the space itself, but possibly not of the set design.

During the last tour of REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL we had a beautiful set model – a perfect scale replica of the stage set. However, although it was technically a perfect representation of what was on stage, did it give a useful experience of the stage for blind and visually impaired audience members?

The point of a tactile set model, as I see it, is to interpret the intention of the stage set and produce a box that communicates that, not just build a literal recreation of the set.

The REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL set is a lovely one to work with. It is set in a pub, beach hut, living room, and supermarket. And it’s a play within a play. So even though the set is pretty naturalistic, it’s quite complex. I’m not interpreting the complexity, just providing a tactile overview.

Step One: What are the key features of the set design?

Step Two: Starting to make bits and bobs – pine, fimo, and glue become my world for a while! This is a pool table, boiled down to the essentials.

Step Three: Halfway there, starting to check the pieces make sense in relation to each other. In the actual set there are photographic boards to give a feel of each area – I’ve translated these into tactile surfaces.

Step 4: To finish it off  I will need to sand and paint, and sand and paint, and sand and paint until the inner surfaces are shiny. I’ll then need to hinge the lid on and glue everything in place with super-tough epoxy resin.

Step 5: Use it!

Robin Bray

 Access Support Assistant

www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

It’s not hard to draw parallels between the era in which REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL is set and the political upheaval we’re experiencing today.  For many it is the secret to the show’s massive appeal – the direct recognition for those who remember the early Thatcher years, and the resonance and ability to relate for those who did not live through them.

In the past 18 months we have seen thousands of people descend on the nation’s streets to protest against cuts, marginalisation and the growing gap between rich and poor. The protesters are not just workers but also students, disabled people and many others from all walks of life. And back in the late 1970s it was the same.

In What a Waste Ian Dury sang:

“I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution
I could be an inmate in a long-term institution
I could lead to wide extremes, I could do or die
I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch them gallop by”

And in REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Vinnie’s family are struggling under the new 1979 government: ‘Council’s holding a meeting about the cuts next week… There’ll be a vote on industrial action” says Bobby.

In recent weeks it seems that Margaret Thatcher is inescapable, with Hollywood royalty Meryl Streep portraying her to great acclaim in The Iron Lady, and much interest in the former PM’s policies and actions. It is perhaps unsurprising that all this is happening now, since we find ourselves under a Tory government (albeit a nominally Coalition one), but it could even be argued that the memory of Thatcher and her government is being sentimentalised, and those that prospered under her leadership are enjoying fond memories of those times.

A simultaneous consequence of this, however, is that the recollections and strong feelings of Thatcher’s detractors are bubbling up, too. A recent article in The Guardian suggests that those affected negatively by Thatcher’s policies at the time wouldn’t even consider attending The Iron Lady, irrespective of the fact that it might well portray her in a negative light. http://bit.ly/yi5TkP.

Regardless of which side of the Thatcher debate you sit on, the current interest in her means that the struggles and political ideals of the characters in REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL are even more relevant to us in the audience.

If one good thing seems to be coming out of the Coalition’s cuts, it is that people are becoming more politicised, or rediscovering their politics. This could be because so many people are affected by them, or will be, or know other people who are. Frustratingly, after several years of improvement (however slow), support for disabled people is one area that is currently under threat, with cuts to the Disabled Living Allowance. However, like with other sections of society people are standing up for their rights, as illustrated by the Responsible Reform report (otherwise known as the Spartacus Report), which was “entirely written, researched, funded, and supported by sick and disabled people, their friends and carers.”

Graeae Artistic Director Jenny Sealey says “The parallels of the setting of the play (in Thatcher’s regime) and the current government are alarming and depressing. In this way the play becomes political without us trying. It speaks for itself.”

Did you live through the Thatcher era? If so, what did the Government mean to you? How do parties today compare with ’79 election? We’d love to hear your comments so please leave us a post below.

www.reasonstobecheerfulthemusical.co.uk

She gave us her perspective on her time here, thanks for all your hard work Laura!

“Working with Graeae has been an experience that I will never forget! From the first day of my work placement the infectious, fun, exciting and welcoming atmosphere received from all of the staff  was great.  We began most days with a hilarious warm-up conducted by Artistic Director Jenny Sealey, getting everyone in the appropriate frame of mind for a constructive days work. I found that working in this happy and friendly environment gave everyone (including myself) the opportunity to have their own say and accepted point of view.

The new building is completely accessible, a modern and bright representation of the company itself. Getting the chance to meet the cast of REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL was really inspiring; they were all extremely friendly and made me feel like a member of the team. Having the opportunity to work with Graeae has given me a huge insight into the amount of time and energy that is put in to make all of Graeae’s performances fully accessible. Working with Graeae has been a brand new experience and I have loved every single minute of it!

I really look forward to continuing to work with this inspirational company in the near future.”  

Laura McKenna

 Sophie Woolley undertook her Play Lab across two afternoons on Monday 12 and Tue 13 December 2011.

“I first dreamt up the idea for my recent Play Lab on the set of Channel 4’s Cast Offs, whilst acting with Tim Gebbels (who played Tom). I Would Rather Go Blind is a tragicomedy with a deaf woman and a blind man at its heart. It’s also sort of a love story, bleak yet joyful, irreverent and believable. And very funny. I think I can speak for everyone involved on the Play Lab when I say we are hugely excited about the story. It’s ambitious, fascinating and (without giving away the unexpected twist in the tale) an explosive taboo buster.

Over two afternoons, Amit Sharma, Graeae associate director, led Tim and me through some cunning improvisational exercises to help develop the two main characters and explore certain key themes and plot points. It was a great start. Above all it was unique and interesting. Ultimately I want it to be a show that can be played by deaf and blind actors around the world in the years to come. But for now, it’s back to the laptop for more frowning and scripting. I’ll be blogging any fresh developments at www.sophiewoolley.com.”

Sophie Woolley

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